TOKYO (TR) – A man believed to belong to a fraud group in custody in the swindling of an elderly woman out of property valued at more than 70 million yen was also the defendant in a lawsuit concerning a much larger scam in Ibaraki Prefecture, investigative sources with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police have revealed, reports TV Asahi (Feb. 19).
According to the sources, Yasunori Miyata, 54, was sued at the Tokyo District Court over the swindling of a male real estate broker in Hitachi City over a land transaction valued at 700 million yen. The court ordered Miyata to pay 920 million yen to cover the value of the transaction and penalties.
However, Miyata went missing after the ruling was handed down. In February, Tokyo police announced the arrest of Miyata, 54, Hiroyuki Kameno, 52, and four associates for allegedly impersonating a woman in her 80s and selling her land and buildings in Sumida Ward to make over 70 million yen, a swindle that began in December 2012.
Miyata and his associates are likely a group of fraudulent land brokers that impersonate victims and sell their land without permission, police said. The group forged documents, such as seal registration certificates, that are necessary to sell land.